Wabi

Book Description

Wabi was born an owl—a great horned owl who grew to become such a strong, confident creature that he was afraid of nothing. But now he is afraid. He fears that he might never win the heart of the girl he loves. Somehow, despite his own intentions, he has fallen in love with a girl— a beautiful, headstrong human girl. And so he begins the adventure of his life. He shape-shifts into human form in order to be with her. But before he can win her love, he must face an even greater challenge in a land he comes to think of as the Valley of Monsters.

Exhilarating, unique, and told in an engagingly wry narrative voice, this is a fantasy that weaves together classic elements of folklore, romance, and most of all, adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Owls Entire.......2006-10-14

Boy! What a great book!

My reviews tend to be long lengthy affairs utilizing words like "the text" and "metaphor" and who knows what all. Now I just finished "Wabi" by Joseph Bruchac and I'm battling a near overwhelming temptation to leave my first sentence right at that. I mean, what more is there to say? This is a fantastic work of fiction with enough excitement, romance, magic, adventure, and feats of strength to wow even the most reluctant of readers. You like animal stories? How about books with monsters in them? Do you like books with Native American culture woven in? How about a story of one boy trying to find his place in the world? Doggone it, this book has EVERYTHING you could possibly want in a piece of fiction. I feel like the grandfather at the beginning of "A Princess Bride" trying to convince his grandson that he holds in his hands a truly great story. Joseph Bruchac has put together a book that has a little bit of something for everyone. The result is one of the strongest titles of the year.

He was born a rather small and runty owl. As a chick, Wabi wasn't particularly strong, but he was clever and curious, and those traits held him in good stead. After being unceremoniously kicked out his nest by his older bully of a brother, Wabi meets up with his great-grandmother who immediately teaches him everything he needs to know. Together the two take care of a small village of people that live not far from the owls' home. All kinds of nasty monsters and aberrations of nature threaten the peaceful villagers and Wabi protects them as best he can. Slowly, however, he falls in love with a girl in the village. Her name is Dojihla and she's a strong, headstrong, single-minded type. So it is that great-grandmother lets Wabi in on a secret. If he wants to, he can change into a human being and attempt to win Dojihla's hand in marriage. Things do not go entirely as Wabi might have expected, however, and now he must fight numerous monsters, locate a missing wolf pack, and rescue the villagers once more if he is ever to reach the end of his own personal journey.

First off, it's nice to have a narrator you really like right from the beginning of the book. Wabi has a sense of humor and sense of self that just feel true. He seems like a real person (slash owl) from start to finish and you're rooting for him the entire way. The sense of humor I mentioned is important too. There are plenty of adventure novels out there that take their quests so seriously you'd think the whole affair would fall apart if anything halfway amusing happened in it. Bruchac, on the other hand, isn't afraid to have Wabi refer to his brother as an ornicidal maniac one moment and then dryly describe the fact that while it wasn't necessary to deliver three additional bone-crushing bones to a particularly nasty dead beastie, "... it made us feel better."

I don't know if you'd characterize this as a book that always keeps you guessing, but it certainly keeps you reading from start to finish. Basically this is a Native American superhero tale. Wabi begins life small, rises to great heights (literally... HA HA), finds the woman he loves, protects her people with his amazing abilities, has his secret identity revealed (did I mention his feathered ears before?), and triumphs in the end. The book even reminded me of some of the more classic tales in literature. At one point Wabi is in human form with his grandfather's bow and he challenges a fellow to string it. The guy, of course cannot, and then Wabi does so with ease. Doesn't that sound just a touch like a story of Odysseus? Small moments that knowingly or unknowingly refer to other myths in history and literature give the book a nice zing of recognition once in a while.

Here's what it all comes down to, though. I can praise the writing and the storytelling and the fun of the book, but as I see it this is one of the very few books that kids of all ages, genders, etc. will enjoy equally. How many children's books, really good really well-written children's books, can you say that for in 2006? It has some mild similarities to "Owl In Love", by Patrice Kindl of course, but this is an entirely different critter. I'm a Wabi fan through and through, and I don't think I'm the only one. A sleeper hit of the year, if I don't miss my guess.

wonderful book.......2006-09-23

This is a terrific, fun book with a compelling narrative voice and lots of cool monsters. I laughed out loud several times at Wabi's adventures, and cried twice. My kids and I read parts of it out loud last night, then I finished it, and the 11-year-old is up in her room this morning, reading it.

I've read a lot of YA fantasy this year, and this is the best of the lot.

Child of the Owl: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1965 (Golden Mountain Chronicles)

Average customer rating:

BEWARE what your kids are reading
childs owl
Excellent, superb, and other words of adulation
it was okay
Good Starter Book Asian American Youth

Child of the Owl: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1965 (Golden Mountain Chronicles)
Laurence Yep
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Sea Glass: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1970

ASIN: 006440336X
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Book Description

Twelve-year-old Casey is waiting for the day that Barney, her father, hits it big -- 'cause when that horse comes in, he tells her, it's the penthouse suite. But then hr ends up in the hospital, and Casey is sent to Chinatown to live with her grandmother, Paw-Paw. Now the waiting seems longer than ever.

Casey feels lost in Chinatown. She's not prepared for the Chinese school, the noisy crowds, missing her father. But Paw-Paw tells her about the mother Casey never knew, and about her family's owl charm and her true Chinese name. And Casey at last begins to understand that this -- Paw-Paw's Chinatown home, her parents' home -- is her home,too.

Customer Reviews:

BEWARE what your kids are reading.......2006-10-07

Wow! I knew this book wasn't for us by page 24 when the author had already made a slang referance to women's breasts, glorified gambling for the whole 24 pages, referred to Playboy magazine, devoted a paragraph to a topless bar billboard description and used "Jesu Christe" as a curse.

My daughter was adopted from China, and when I came across my first 2 Lawrence Yep books, I was pleased with the creative writing and Asian-American cultural content. I don't know what all his other books are like, but I will certainly be reading any others thoroughly before I pass them down. I guess you can't trust an author by 2 books alone. And to think...I hadn't, yet, even gotten to the "cannibalism and spirits haunting the dead" part referenced by another reader in a previous review!

childs owl.......2004-03-12

Child of the Owl
Child of the Owl is an average book, it's about a Chinese girl that isn't wanted anywhere, and she loves her uncle. His name is Barney. He is a gambler, and he just lost big to big Mike. So she goes to paw paws house and lives there for a while. Many interesting things happen to Casey. Barney eventually gets his money back, and Casey lives with him. I did not like this book very much because, it got a little boring while Casey was at paw paw's house, there where a few interesting parts though, like when she went to her aunts house, her aunt had a husband and lots of other people in her family and they kept getting mad at Casey they thought she was dressed poorly and even thought she was a hoodlum. That was probably the most exciting and must interesting part in the story it was also very funny this books vocabulary was a little easy, and the author didn't use very many exciting words.

Excellent, superb, and other words of adulation.......2004-01-24

Here's the first sentence of "Child of the Owl":
"It was hard to understand Barney with the air tubes up his nose".

And from that sentence on it this book becomes one of the most readable I have ever encountered. Have you ever entered into a book, not knowing what to expect but suspecting that it's not going to retain your interest for very long? Knowing what little I did about "Child of the Owl", I walked into this gem of kiddie lit with more than a little trepidation. What I found was a story that was funny, touching, and ultimately informative. I'm naturally wary of books that are supposed to be "good" for children. That will teach them lessons about diversity while maintaining a sticky sweet didactic tone. But "Child of the Owl" isn't like that at all. Instead, it is honest-to-goodness gold.

The plot is especially good. Young streetwise Casey must leave her gambler father to live with her Grandmother in San Francisco's Chinatown for a little while. Laurence Yep has effectively written a tale that captures the spirit of a person never fully feeling as if they fit in. As the blurb on the cover of the books says, sometimes, "you can feel like a stranger, trapped in the wrong place, in the wrong time, even in the wrong body". What makes the book so eminently readable, however, is the care with which Yep has drawn upon his own experiences in 1964 Chinatown, to explain and examine Casey's reactions to life in that once tiny neighborhood.

Now if I was going to make a collection of Top Ten Children's Books Set In San Francisco, "Child of the Owl" would be number one. It would also be number one of Top Ten Intergenerational Children's Books and Top Ten Children's Books Containing Sarcastic Wisecracking Kids. Sorry Gilly Hopkins. Casey's got you beat. As a heroine she's funny, smart, and filled with reactions appropriate to a pre-adolescent. I highly recommend this book to any child wanting to learn more about the Chinese-American experience of living in America. The book speaks volumes to those living then and now. It is a book to be remembered.

it was okay.......2003-06-21

I read this book a long time ago in middle school and personally was able to relate to some of her Casey's feelings and experiences but I don't really remember what happened in the story. Don't take my word for it because I never paid that much attention to what I read back then. It was okay and she resembles some of my cousin and me when we were younger but I guess my parents would've thought she was silly. Thats all I remembered about it and the rest was okay but I guess its been too long ago since I read this book to write a review for it anyway.

Good Starter Book Asian American Youth.......2003-06-15

I found this book on the shelf of my 5th grade classroom 14 years ago, and it completely changed my life. Never before and actually, never since, did I feel like I could relate to a character in a book like that. But, of course, reading it again when i was older, I don't relate to anything in the book other than the main character was a Chinese American female, and so was I.

As opposed to some other Asian American books for kids, I like this one particularly because it takes place in the US. While more 'multi-cultural' books try and relate back to China a lot, I liked this one because I find it a lot more relavant to the 2nd generation/3rd generation experience, and it also appeals to the curiosity people begin to have about their 'culture' when they start thinking about ethnic identity.

The strong parts about the book: The story is engaging, and even though it was written in the 1970's or 1960's, it doesn't seem dated. It's about a separated family, and Casey's a toy-boy who doesn't take a lot of crap, as opposed to some goody-goody. And the backdrop of Chinatown makes it pretty interesting and urban, and gives a good general historical background of Chinatown as an ethnic enclave, too. Also, if anyone is concerned about the politics represented in the book, as far as I can tell, there aren't any messages of advocating for a color-blind society or all multi-culti-feel-good sentiment which are characteristics I find frustrating about a lot of other 'books for Asian American youth'.

The weak parts about the book: I don't really like a lot of mythology, folklore or fantastic stories. I hated them as a kid, and I still really don't like it now. My least favorite part as a kid is the story about the spirit of the owl, and it still makes me weary. The book still implies filial piety, but to a degree which I think it's ok, mostly because of Casey's strong personality and inclination to rebel. Also, most Chinese American kids live outside of Chinatowns so the experience is a lot different and I haven't heard of too many books which sort of discuss either a more urban, or a more suburbian narrative that's pretty realistic and has good politics, too.

Nonetheless, I still pick up the book from time to time. I don't know a whole lot of other Asian American kids books, but as someone who turned out to be an Asian American major in college, I still need to pay tribute to the fact that regardless of whether in retrospect I think my life related, it very early on offered me the narative of a Chinese American female in the US, and the beginnings of understanding what it meant for me to be Chinese American.

Book Description

The Screech Owls are off to Stockholm to take part in the first-ever International Goodwill Peewee Tournament, featuring teams from Finland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Russia, as well as from all over Sweden.

Not only do the Owls get to go on the trip of a lifetime, they also learn the differences between European and North American hockey and make some great new friends – including the thirteen-year-old Russian phenomenon Slava Shadrin, who is already being called “the next Pavel Bure.”

The young hockey star even travels with his own bodyguards. The police, it turns out, suspect the “Russian Mob” is planning to kidnap Slava and hold him for ransom!

And sure enough, when Slava and his new Screech Owls friends give his bodyguards the slip, the Mob moves in. But the villains end up with more captives than they intended…

Kidnapped in Sweden is the fifth book in the Screech Owls Series by Roy MacGregor, joining Mystery at Lake Placid, The Night They Stole the Stanley Cup, The Screech Owls'’Northern Adventure, and Murder at Hockey Camp.

Customer Reviews:

Very Great Book.......2002-12-20

The Screech Owls are going to Sweden to face off in a International Peewee Hockey Tounrmanet. The thirteend russian phenomenon Slava Shadrin is there and he has his own bodygaurds. The police suspect the Russian Mob to kidnap him and hold him for ransom. When Slave and his new friends the Screech Owls give the bodygaurds the slip the Mob moves in. But they end up with more captives then they bargained for.

Average customer rating:

It's a Hoot!

A Place for Owls

Manufacturer: Owl Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0919872964

Customer Reviews:

It's a Hoot!.......2002-12-07

This is a fabulous book for both kids and adults. It gives a true look into the life of owl "foster parents" at Kay's rehabilitation facility. Get ready for true (and hilarious) stories about how these owls that think they are human relate to both humans, owlets, and other owls. I've given it as a gift over and over again. A must read if you like owls, and even if you don't like owls, you'll love them after this book!

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Book for Children AND Adults
EXTRAORDINARY BIRD REHAB ACCOUNT NOT JUST FOR KIDS

A Place for Owls: True Animal Stories
Katherine McKeever
Manufacturer: Maple Tree Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0920775241

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Book for Children AND Adults.......1999-11-02

I wholeheartedly agree with the previous reviewer. This is a charming and well written book that conveys a real love of wildlife and imparts important information on the dangers of 'saving' orphaned wild birds. Learning of the individual personalities of these amusing, complex creatures helps us to view the wild beings that share our planet with deeper appreciation and compassion. A wonderful learning opportunity for children, and funny, too! My 9 year old son LOVES this book.

EXTRAORDINARY BIRD REHAB ACCOUNT NOT JUST FOR KIDS.......1997-05-15

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A STORY FOR SMALL KIDS, BUT IT
IS FOR ANY AGE AND DESERVES WIDE READING.
I AM AN ADULT INTERESTED IN WILDLIFE
BUT NO BIRDER. YEARS AGO I SAW THE MCKEEVERS'
HOME AND THEIR ARRANGEMENTS FOR WOUNDED AND
ORPHANED OWLS. I WAS ASTONISHED
AT THEIR ABILITIES AND MODESTY. THE BOOK
IS NOT 'CUTE' BUT A FINE PIECE OF WRITING
TO SHARE WITH ADULT FRIENDS OR A CHILD.
YOU LEARN A LOT. AND YES, IT IS CHARMING.

Average customer rating:

First Came the Owl
Judith Benet Richardson
Manufacturer: Yearling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0440413923
Release Date: 1997-12-01

Book Description

Nita can't believe it! She's just won the role of Snow White in her fifth-grade class play. If only Nita's mother, Ma-jah, could be there to see her perform. But ever since Ma-jah returned from visiting relatives in Thailand, she's been suffering from depression. And now she's in the hospital. Nita feels lonely without Ma-jah around to talk to. As soon as shy Nita steps onstage to rehearse for the play, everything seems better. Using her powerful imagination, Nita forgets her own problems and pretends to be someone else for a few magical moments. And at home, Nita's busy working on a school report on Thailand. As she learns about her Thai heritage, she understands more about her mother, and about herself as well.

Average customer rating:

Hoot Owl Shares the Dawn

Hoot Owl Shares the Dawn
Jennifer Pratt French
Manufacturer: Hickory Tales Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0970910444

Book Description

In this heartwarming, family oriented adventure, an Anglo-Paiute Indian teen, Johnny B. Falcon, angry at his life's misfortunes runs away from his oppressive home at the Moapa Indian Reservation, desperate to find a normal life. "I feel like I'm the last jagged piece of a jigsaw puzzle lost forever."

With his poor self-image, Johnny hops a cattle truck with his adventures taking him through Nevada to Las Vegas, Dayspring and beyond. He meets a beautiful girl, Lisa, but all seems lost when Johnny has to learn life's lessons the hard way, breaks the law and is sent to reform school. But ironically and fortunately, his association there with three good people: Dr. Lovejoy, Warden Peters and especially old Hoot Owl, the custodian, is about to help Johnny find worth in his own true self.

Hoot Owl is an 80 year old Indian, once himself an inmate, who empathizes with Johnny and brings about an awakening… after Johnny's darkest night. Hoot Owl shares with Johnny his wisdom, plus one surprising Indian secret that will change Johnny's, and also Lisa's, life forever.

Customer Reviews:

Hoot Owl Shares the Dawn.......2004-12-13

This is the sweetest story I've ever read. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, family-style story. Hoot Owl is my newest hero. I enjoyed the characters and the interesting twists & turns along the way. This story is pure joy ... I can't wait to read Ms. French's next novel ... perhaps a continuation of Johnny B. Falcon's adventures?

Average customer rating:

a beautiful story
A heart touching reading experience
I heard the owl call my name
Owl re-visited
The Owl...

I heard the owl call my name
Margaret Craven
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B00005W4P3

Customer Reviews:

a beautiful story.......2007-10-06

I'm adding this book to my short list of best books I have read, those that I want my children to read as they grow up. It left me crying, and happy.

A heart touching reading experience.......2007-09-16

This is a book that has truely stood the test of time. First published in Canada in 1967, it was later published in the US in 1973 and rose to #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

I started reading "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" at 11 pm and simply could not put down. I finished it 3 hours later. From the first page, author Margaret Craven drew me into this novel of the lives of a Native Canadian tribe living in coastal British Columbia and the young vicar who is sent to minister to them.

The vicar, Mark, does not know that he has only two to three years left to live but in the prologue, we, the readers, find out when the doctor informs his Bishop. Being aware of that looming shadow of death makes the other deaths in the book even more poignant; the human deaths, as well as, the death of the Native way of life.

We travel with Mark on his path of discovery as he learns how to live and work among the people he's come to serve. We experience his loneliness, his uncertainty and share in the joy and sadness as he comes to love and respect this tribe and the individuals in it, just as they come to love and respect and ultimately to accept him as one of their own.

By the end, tears were streaming down my face. I can't remember the last time I was affected so profoundly by a book.

If you haven't read this, I highly recommend it. And if you are one of those who were forced to read this as a high school English assignment, I encourage you to come back to it in a few years time and read it again. You'll be able to see it then with different eyes.

I heard the owl call my name.......2007-07-26

the book was interesting and a wonderful story sad at the end but it was wonderful I couldn't put the book down and had to read it all.

Owl re-visited.......2007-02-01

I ordered this recently because I passed the copy I purchased in 1975 to my grandaughter , who has asked me if she can keep it.Of course I said "Yes" , but find I really miss having a copy in the house.
Story takes you out of the hubbub and into the essentials.

The Owl..........2007-01-21

What does one do for a friend who has only a year or two to live? Do you coddle him or challenge him? That's the premise of I Heard the Owl Call My Name. The bishop who is faced with this question, chooses to send his young ill vicar off to the hardest and most remote parish, a small village in British Columbia. The book covers the remaining months of the vicar's life without dwelling on his situation.

Instead, the book focuses on how the vicar learns the culture of the Kwakiutl and likewise how the Kwakiutl begin to slowly accept that the outside world is beginning to seep into their culture as their children seek education outside of the village.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name is a tender story about two cultures learning from each other as seen through the eyes of a young vicar sent to Kingcome, a village in the Pacific Northwest. It's one of the few books where neither culture is favored in how they are portrayed. Both have their good bits and their bad bits. Characters have good days and bad days and are allowed to grow into well rounded individuals.

Average customer rating:

LITTLE EAGLE LOTS OWLS RNF
Jim Edmiston
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0395655641

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